Jinx Proof Cursive
by The Brat Prince
Summary: A prequel to Giddy Brew. Shailly Hargrove is adopted into a prestigious pureblood family. Now in her seventh year, she falls in love. With the son of the family that adopted her; her brother. An origin story for Casey's parents.
1. Back to the Sky

**Jinx Proof Cursive**

_Chapter One_

By: Jondy Macmillan

* * *

Shailly McCallister wasn't born a witch. Or perhaps the truth was that she was born a witch, and just never knew it. Either way, when she was nine years old, Shailly didn't know anything about the secret world that existed right upon side her own. What she did know was that if she came home after five without eating, the fumes from her dad's bathtub distillery would make her dizzy and vomit. What she did know was that her mummy wasn't really spending the night out with the girls every Tuesday night. And what she did know was that the time all the flowers in the back garden had died and then come back to life had been her fault. Yes, Shailly McCallister knew a lot of things by the time she had turned nine. But she still had a lot to learn.

She'd been running down an alley right off Leceister Square when she bumped into the pretty lady with the red hat. It was a broad hat, the kind she saw in her mummy's favorite old movies. The lady wore a proper red suit with it, and high heels that seemed a little too clean to be tramping around this particular alley. By contrast, Shailly was in her dirty old trainers and a torn jumper, with dirt on her cheeks because she'd already fallen once and tomato sauce smudged across her mouth.

The pretty lady looked at Shailly with a kind expression, "Where are you running to so quickly, little girl?"

"I have to go home, or my daddy will get mad," Shailly admitted, "I was just at the library."

"You have something, right there," the lady pointed to her lips, "Let me get a handkerchief."

As the lady was digging around in her purse, Shailly held a hand in front of her face and concentrated hard. Seconds later, the tomato sauce was gone and her cheeks were clean. After that time she'd redone the entire flower garden, this was easy. She thought the pretty lady hadn't seen, but when she looked up, the woman was staring at her with a keen interest in her eye.

"Interesting skills you have," the woman knelt down beside her, "Do your mummy and daddy know?"

Guiltily, Shailly shook her head, "Please don't tell them, ma'am."

The woman only smiled in reply, "My name's Quinn Hargrove. What's yours?"

"Shailly McCallister," Shailly replied shyly.

"Well Shailly, you better get on home before your daddy gets worried," the woman smiled kindly.

"My daddy never worries," Shailly answered with a grin, "He only gets mad."

Before the woman could say anything, Shailly was off and running. Even though Quinn Hargrove had been a lovely woman, she'd made Shailly feel weird. When her mummy asked her what she'd done all day, Shailly didn't mention the strange woman.

A week later, Shailly had all but forgotten about Quinn Hargrove. So she was quite surprised when she came home from school to find the woman sitting on her old, beaten up plaid patterned couch. Her dad was listening to the woman with a very interested expression in his eyes, while her mum was gazing absently out the window. Shailly, standing in the doorway with her muddy overalls and skewed pigtails automatically knew something was wrong. Her mummy was never home on weekdays until eight, and her daddy hardly ever got out of bed except to make a new bottle for himself or one of his customers.

"So what I'm saying is, I could give you twenty five thousand pounds up front, and then another twenty five thousand once she graduates," the woman was telling her father earnestly.

"Fifty thousand pounds," her daddy whistled, "That's a pretty penny."

"It's not much at all," Shailly's mum snapped.

"Verena, we need the money," her father retorted, "Don't deny it."

Shailly's mother turned to inspect her daughter with a sorrowful look, "But…my baby."

Quinn piped in, "I could add an additional twenty five thousand when she reaches the age of twenty."

"Seventy five thousand," Verena McCallister breathed.

"We could buy that place your cousin's been pushing for only a quarter of that," her husband pushed.

With one final glance at Shailly, Verena said, "Alright then. We'll have a legally binding agreement, of course."

"Of course," Quinn smiled, and Shailly felt her gut clench.

Two days later, Shailly McCallister became Shailly Hargrove.

* * *

In retrospect, Shailly didn't regret the way her parents had sold her away like an animal. They hadn't taken very good care of her in the first place. But at the time, Shailly had kicked and screamed and cried her little heart out. Right up until she had seen the great sprawling mansion the Hargrove family lived in, Shailly had put up a fantastic tantrum. She mellowed out a little after that.

Shailly didn't meet the rest of the Hargrove family until she'd already lived in their house for two whole days. A tiny maid scurried up to her near dinner time and handed her an adorably uncomfortable looking red dress. The Hargrove's really liked red.

The maid stuffed her into the dress and dragged her down to the dining room; a place she'd wandered through once or twice but looked as though it had never been used. To her surprise, Quinn was seated at one end of the table in a gorgeous evening gown, and sitting directly across at the head of the table was the most handsome man Shailly had ever seen. He had a strong face with an aquiline nose and piercing gray eyes. His hair was the color of fire, but his skin was a dark olive color. Shailly imagined he looked good standing next to Quinn, who had dark hair and lovely features.

A boy around Shailly's age was sitting at one side of the long rectangular table. Like the man, he wore an impeccable looking suit, although the boy looked very uncomfortable. The chair the maid led Shailly to was right across from the boy.

Once Shailly was seated, Quinn rose and announced, "I'd like to introduce you both to Shailly. Saxon, from today on this little girl is our daughter. Karsh, say hello to your new sister."

"Hi," the boy waved half heartedly at her, "I don't want a sister."

"Hi," Shailly acknowledge, "Karsh is a funny name."

The two children made faces at each other from across the table. Saxon Hargrove, the man, smirked and said to his wife, "I can see they'll be the most loving of siblings."

Quinn gritted her teeth and smiled right back at her husband.

Karsh was…like a fire. He burned brightest when people were around. Like adding logs to a fire, each new person that entered a room would make Karsh seem more and more spectacular. He would laugh more, he would smile more, and he because of that even more people would want to get to know him.

Shailly didn't know this at first, of course. What she knew was that her new brother spent most of his time getting into trouble. There wasn't a single day he wasn't scolded by one of the maids, or worse, his parents. He liked to sneak out to the village, and he was bloody persuasive in getting Shailly to come with him. By the time they were ten, there wasn't a single thing Karsh couldn't make Shailly do, just by asking.

The first time they talked was after dinner that night. Shailly had already been tucked into her nice, warm, huge bed. She started when she heard one of the doors open, and bravely peeked out over her covers to see who it was. Ever since the first day, Shailly had been convinced that such a big house had to be haunted. Scared that it was a ghost, Shailly was relieved to see Karsh's small body illuminated by the hall lights.

"What are you doing here?" Shailly demanded.

Karsh shrugged and walked over to her bed. Without warning, he pulled back the covers and clambered into the bed with her.

"You can't do that," Shailly protested, "You're a boy."

"So?" he asked.

"Boys aren't supposed to sleep in the same bed as girls," Shailly informed him.

"Are you a girl?" he asked.

Startled, Shailly retorted, "Of course I am."

Karsh just shrugged, "I've never met anyone my own age before. You could have been a boy."

"Well I'm not," she replied loudly.

"Shhhh, they'll hear! They always come and yell at me when I'm not in my room," Karsh said sadly.

"Well why aren't you in your room?"

"I get scared. I think it's haunted, you know," Karsh confided in her. For the first time, Shailly examined Karsh. From the moonlight she could make out his round face, his long eyelashes, and his tiny mouth. His skin was dark, even darker than his father's, but his eyes were just as gray and stormy. And he had dark red hair, like the wine Quinn had drank with dinner. He had long, gangly limbs, and even as he put his arms around Shailly for warmth, she could tell that he was uncomfortable in his own body.

Shailly wondered what she looked like to him. Chubby cheeked, with wild strawberry blonde hair and big blue eyes, she probably didn't appear to be big sister material. And actually, wasn't Karsh supposed to be the big brother? Giving in with a sigh, Shailly placed her arms around Karsh, "It's okay. I'll protect you from the ghosts."

Fearfully, Karsh whispered, "This doesn't mean you get to be my sister, you know."

"That's fine. Who would want a spoiled brother like you?"

From that day on, Shailly and Karsh had been fast friends. No matter what mischief Karsh got up to during the day, Shailly was with him. And every day, Karsh snuck out of his bed and into Shailly's, alarmed that the ghosts might catch him. Shailly wasn't sure how Karsh could be so fearless during the day, but so scared at night.

Karsh showed her how to do things she never thought she could, like make blades of grass into butterflies and fly on fake brooms. Every once in a while out of the corner of her eye, Shailly would see a maid lighting a candle without a match or stirring the stew without touching the spoon. She ignored it. A year and a half passed, and although Shailly had noticed that the Hargrove family was odd, it never quite sunk in. It was only when the letters came that Shailly realized.

* * *

"I'm a witch."

"Yes," Quinn replied cheerfully, "And a smart one as well. Hogwarts only takes the best."

"Is Karsh going to go there?" Shailly inquired, "I want to go where Karsh goes."

Standing against one wall with his arms crossed, Karsh echoed, "I want to go where Shailly goes too."

"Ah," Quinn glanced at her husband uncertainly, "Well Karsh is going to a place like Hogwarts, but not to Hogwarts."

"I want to go where Karsh goes," Shailly announced stubbornly.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, love," Shailly was surprised as Saxon swept her up onto his knee. He rarely showed signs of affection, which is probably why Shailly's next question was only a meek, "Why not?"

"Karsh is going to take over my business when he grows up. He needs to go overseas and learn how to communicate internationally," Saxon explained.

Shailly didn't understand the entire thing, but she did hear, "Overseas? Karsh is going to go over the entire sea?"

"I don't want to," Karsh growled fiercely.

"Well you're going to," his father commanded, not even looking at his son. Instead he cradled Shailly gently, "Don't worry. You'll see your brother over breaks."

"He's not my brother," Shailly said happily, "He's Karsh."

"And she's not my sister. She's Shailly, and I'm gonna go to the same school as her!"

Quinn and Saxon exchanged looks. Karsh beamed at Shailly, and she beamed right back.

* * *

They didn't go to the same school. But Quinn hadn't lied. Every summer and every winter, Karsh and Shailly reunited. They had their own lives at school. They never owled each other except as a formality, and never visited, but the second they were home for hols, Shailly and Karsh picked up right back where they'd left off.

It was the second day of her seventh and final year at Hogwarts that Shailly heard the news. She received the owl at breakfast. Her two best friends, Arcadia Webster and Maeve Bixby were sitting on either side of her at the Ravenclaw table.

When Shailly had been a first year at Hogwarts, she'd been made fun of for her shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair. In a sea of students who were blonde, brunette, and dark haired, Shailly had stuck out. It didn't help that she was skinny, freckled, and much too tall for her age. Then she'd met Arcadia. Arcadia had a deep, fiery red coloration to her long mane, and even in their first year had quickly become one of the most popular girls in school. Arcadia was fair and willow slim, with a kind smile and an aristocratic face. Maeve had been the last addition to their group; she had deep auburn colored hair that was cut short to her ears. Maeve was wild, and often looked like an untamed animal when you glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. She never held back her laughs, and liked to burp and swear like a boy. They had all become friends because of their hair and its coloring. It was a stupid reason, but it was a reason none of them ever regretted.

"What's it say?" Maeve demanded, popping her Drooble's gum loudly. Maeve never ate breakfast because she said it made her feel gross. At first, Shailly had thought this meant Maeve was on a diet, up until she saw the feasts Maeve called dinner. The auburn haired girl could probably devour an entire third world country's food in one sitting.

Shailly smiled, jumping out of her chair and racing out of the Great hall. Confused, Maeve turned to Arcadia, "What the bloody hell was that all about?"

"I don't know," Arcadia worried in her sweet voice, "Perhaps there was an emergency?"

"Lets follow her," Maeve jumped to her feet. Arcadia shrugged and did the same.

Unaware of her friend's confusion, Shailly sprinted to the headmistress's office, taking the steps up two at a time. When she burst in, Professor McGonagall glanced up, surprised.

"That was quite quick, Miss Hargrove," the old woman lifted an eyebrow.

"Is Karsh here yet?" Shailly gasped for breath.

With a kind smile, Professor McGonagall replied, "Any second now, I expect."

As if he'd been waiting for the perfect moment to make a dramatic entrance, the fireplace suddenly flared to life. Seconds later, he emerged. As though he'd expected her, his arms were already spread wide to welcome her in.

"Karsh," Shailly cried, flying into his embrace. Her almost-brother hugged her tightly.

"Hey there," he whispered, and Shailly felt her insides melt. Even though she'd just left home two days ago, Shailly hated being away from Karsh. Every single time, she missed him like crazy.

The sound of loud panting broke the two's joyful reunion apart.

"Miss Webster, Miss Bixby? Can I help you?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly, "You both look as though you've run a marathon."

"That's because Shailly's so damn fast," Arcadia cursed, "Er- sorry Professor."

Eyeing her two friends, Shailly said, "Uh, hey guys. Are you okay?"

"Are we okay?" Maeve demanded, "You took off like a bat out of hell, and you ask if we're okay?"

"Er, sorry. It's just…well, this is my brother. Karsh," Shailly grinned. The most innocuous looking boy either girl had ever seen stepped out from behind Shailly. At least that's what they thought, right up until he smiled and waved. His smile was slow and crooked, and transformed his entire face into this sort of 'I'm up for anything if you are' kind of look. He had dark ruby colored hair, and rather large ears, but his stark gray eyes stood bright against his facial structure.

"Hi," Maeve gasped, staring openly.

"Hi," Arcadia greeted him politely, not nearly as impressed, "Nice to make your acquaintance."

"You as well," Karsh replied, and Shailly reflected that she'd even missed the sound of his voice.

"I hate to break all this up," Professor McGonagall interrupted, not sounding sorry in the least, "But I have to get Mister Hargrove sorted and set up, so if you girls would like to start heading to class?"

"Oh my gosh!" Arcadia exclaimed, "We're late!"

Grabbing Shailly and Maeve's hands, Arcadia started to pull them out of the office.

"Bye Karsh!" Shailly exclaimed happily. Maeve and Arcadia echoed her with less enthusiasm.

* * *

It was after class, during the girls' free period that they finally got a chance to discuss Shailly's brother's arrival. They'd snuck over behind one of the huge willows on the lake. Maeve had a pack of wizard-lite cigars that she'd stolen from her dad, and she'd quickly become addicted to them. This was the only place that she could get away with smoking, however.

Maeve took a long drag on her cigar, staring moodily at the water, "I hate to tell you this, but your brother is hot."

"Hot," Shailly repeated, with an arched brow, "You wouldn't think so if you saw him chug a gallon of orange juice every morning."

"He is very attractive," Arcadia put in, almost timidly.

"Karsh is…Karsh," Shailly shrugged, surprised at Arcadia's uncharacteristic reaction. Hadn't she been all not-interested back in McGonagall's office? Anyway, Arcadia didn't normally go for boys like Karsh, "I don't know. He's my… brother."

Shailly frowned after she said this. She hardly ever referred to Karsh as her brother. It just felt weird. Oh well, it wasn't like he had heard. He hated it when anyone called them siblings, including his own parents.

"Is he dating anyone?" Maeve demanded.

Shailly groaned, "Yeah. Noxious Flicka Reiker."

"Flicka, Flicka…any relation to Farica Reiker?" Maeve joked. Farica Reiker was the lead singer in an American witch band all three girls absolutely adored.

"Actually, her cousin," Shailly frowned, "Karsh is in a band that's opened for Farica's once or twice. He just transferred in from the US. Anyway, I don't know how that piece of fluff and Farica can possibly share the same DNA."

"Well then, here's to fluffy bunnies of girls stealing all the decent guys," Arcadia held out the cup of pumpkin juice she'd been nursing, "Cheers."

"You shouldn't talk," Maeve grumbled, "You're a real bit of cumulus yourself."

"Well, I bet now that they're so far away, Flicka and Karsh will break up," Shailly crossed her fingers behind her back. Although Karsh's parents wholly approved of him dating Flicka, the few times that Shailly had met her the girl had quickly grated on her nerves. She didn't understand how Karsh could tolerate her. Pondering this, Shailly leaned her head back against the willow tree. She couldn't wait to sit down and talk to Karsh. Why was he here? What had made Quinn and Saxon decide to finally let him transfer?

The sun felt nice on her face. So much so that Shailly didn't notice when she eventually drifted off to sleep. Maeve and Arcadia must have decided she looked tired, because when Shailly finally woke up, it was late noon and she'd missed all of her classes. Her best friends were nowhere in sight.

"Great," Shailly muttered, picking herself up off the grass, "Professors are going to murder me in my sleep."

As she straightened, familiar arms encircled her waist. Familiar heat pressed up against her back. Familiar yet unfamiliar lips touched the area where her neck and her shoulder intersected. Shailly stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed into the embrace. Unlike his parents, Karsh was always affectionate.

"Hey you," Shailly turned, hugging her almost-brother once more for good measure, "Spill. Why did they let you come to Hogwarts?"

Karsh laughed, a good clear sound, "To tell the truth, I have no idea. They told me right after you left that I wasn't going back to Shimmercobble. They wouldn't tell me why."

"Leave it to Quinn and Saxon," Shailly shook her head, "Oh! Hey, what house did you get sorted into."

"Er," Karsh made a show of nervously running his hand through his thick hair.

"Not Slytherin," Shailly gasped, "They're all complete toads!"

"No," Karsh replied thoughtfully, "I think it's called…Ravenclaw?"

Shailly smacked him, "You git! You're in my house. Don't mess with me like that!"

"Aw, but if I can't mess with my best friend, who can I mess with?" Karsh wondered aloud, "Hey Shai, you look cold."

He was dressed only in a sweater, jeans, and a scarf, but upon noticing her shivering, Karsh automatically unwound the scarf and wrapped it around her neck.

"I don't need this," she objected, athough she was feeling the damp from sitting on the ground all that time seeping into her bones.

"Do you want my sweater, too?" Karsh asked, making to take it off.

"No!" Shailly exclaimed, eyeing the bit of his stomach that had just been exposed. She had to admit, Maeve was right. Karsh was some kind of gorgeous. Shailly blinked, trying to chase that thought away. Now where had that come from?

She eyed Karsh fiddling with the pendant around his neck. It was a silver double necked guitar charm on a black leather cord. Shailly had bought it for Karsh two years ago, back when he'd first started playing guitar. His mother had wanted to know why he was so interested in some weird muggle thing, and he had done his best to shield Shailly from blame. To tell the truth, even though Shailly pretended to be a pureblood now, she still remembered what it was like back with her real parents. She remembered TV and movies and pictures that stayed still all the time, not just when they felt like it. She still had a special fondness for muggle things, and because of that, Karsh had also grown interested.

She was glad though. Karsh was an amazing guitarist.

Deciding she was daydreaming too much, Shailly demanded, "Did you break it off with Flicka yet?"

"For you, anything," Karsh replied smoothly, "No. Actually I was planning on writing her tonight."

"Breaking up in a letter? How anti-debonair of you. You're scared of her, aren't you? Admit it!"

"Terrified," Karsh relented, "She's a scary girl."

"Hmm, well, if you like, Maeve and Arcadia both seem kind of interested in you. Not that I sanction you dating my friends," Shailly said sharply.

"You actually want me to look into them?" Karsh asked, surprised.

"Didn't you hear the last part?"

"Oh. Well, I was thinking of not dating for a little while," Karsh lowered his eyes, "There's a girl I'm sort of interested in."

"Who?" Shailly asked, her interest piqued, "I hope it's not some girl at Shimmercobble. You'll never get to see her."

"Distance isn't an issue. Never has been," Karsh answered shortly.

Shailly thought hard, "A girl from the village?"

"Like mother and father wouldn't flip over that," Karsh mused, "A muggle girl. How novel."

"Hey! I'm muggle born you know," Shailly informed him as though it were news.

"I know, I was kidding."

"So who could it be?" Shailly watched Karsh sit cross legged in the very same spot in front of the willow she'd slept against. After a second's hesitation, she sat next to him.

"Guess," Karsh suggested, a wicked smile crossing his face. He put an arm around Shailly and pulled her in close so that they could both keep warm. As the sun descended, a cool autumn breeze was picking up.

Shailly stared into the surface of the lake as though it might tell her Karsh's secret. Gasping suddenly, she asked, "Is it a boy? Because I'd be completely okay with that."

Karsh blinked, "Uh. No."

"Blast. Who could it be then?" she turned to meet his eyes, blue against gray. Sometimes she wondered whether they really did look the part of siblings. They both had the red hair, albeit different variations, and they both had eyes that were at different spectrums of the color blue. Their skin was vastly different, and their faces looked nothing alike, but still…Shailly wondered sometimes if the strangers who passed them thought they looked like siblings. Perhaps they thought the two were a couple. For some reason, the thought made Shailly warm.

Grinning, Karsh leaned in, his warm breath brushing her ear, "It's a secret."

"No fair," Shailly complained.

"Heh. I'll never tell," he taunted her.

Wrestling him to the ground, Shailly straddled him and demanded, "What about now?"

"Nope," Karsh shook his head, dirt getting in his hair.

She started to tickle him, knowing his every weak point, "Now?"

Laughing hard, Karsh replied, "Nope."

She continued to tickle him until his breath was coming out in gasps, but even then, he wouldn't surrender the name.

* * *

Later that night, Shailly lay in bed wondering who exactly the girl Karsh liked could be. It wasn't that the subject was bothering her so much as that she was curious. Absently, Shailly wondered if the girl Karsh liked couldn't be her. She'd played with the thought time and time again over the years. It wasn't that they were supposed to be siblings that bothered her; after all, they weren't blood related and Shailly had seen so little of Karsh over the past eight years she'd been part of his family that she basically saw him as a childhood friend. A childhood friend who lived in the same house as her, but a childhood friend all the same.

It was just that normally, a guy like Karsh would be way out of her league. There were guys who reminded her of him at Hogwarts; sexy Shale Oakley, sweet Rusty Emerson, fun loving twins Wyatt and Shiloh Kingsbury, and wild Arley Wright. But none of them ever paid her any attention. The only reason Shailly even had talked to such guys was because of school or Arcadia's popularity.

Shailly sighed, burying her head into her pillow. This was probably going to bug her for the rest of the night. Who in the world did Karsh like?

* * *

A/N: Um. I hate Fish. She made me do it. I know, Giddy Brew has more spin offs and side stories than it could ever need.

Just for the record, the original story for this is Giddy Brew. That has two side stories, I Hate Every Beautiful Day, and A New Heart for Christmas- both of which accompany chapter 16 of Giddy Brew. There is also a slight spin off of seven drabbles, called Wicked, which takes place after Giddy Brew.

Then there is Giddy Brew's official sequel, Poison Fairytales. Poison Fairytales, as of now has two side stories- one of which is The Stars Beneath Your Feet, which takes place before Poison Fairytales and is about the two main characters of PF (Harper and Conrad), and the other is not published yet, but is about another PF character, Merlin.

This, I suppose, is a prequel to Giddy Brew- but you do not have to have read Giddy Brew to read this. For those of you who haven't, Karsh Hargrove is the father of one of the main characters of Giddy Brew, Casey Hargrove. This story will mostly be fluff with a little bit of drama. I estimate about five to ten chapters, and I still blame the Fish.


	2. Run to You Like Water

**Jinx Proof Cursive**

_Chapter Two: Run to You Like Water_

By: Jondy Macmillan

* * *

Karsh had settled in nicely at Hogwarts. By the end of the week, he'd already found a fan base of muggle born groupies who simply adored his band and a gaggle of pureblood girls who liked him solely on the basis of his good looks and wealthy upbringing. Every single one of them stopped by to see Shailly at least once that week.

"Your brother is tops," lovely Gryffindor seventh year Miriam Blake told her with a smile, "Is he seeing anyone?"

"You'd have to ask him," Shailly replied icily, wishing people would stop asking her about her brother. Miriam lowered her eyes and marched back to the Gryffindor table. Shailly thought she spied her saying something nasty to her best friend, ditzy Daisy Holbrook.

"You know, you were rather rude to her," Arcadia observed, "I thought you liked Miriam."

"I do. But that doesn't mean I want her paws all over Karsh," Shailly mumbled through a mouthful of meat pasty.

"How many girls had that been so far?" Maeve queried, "Let's see, Miriam, and I definitely saw Daisy eyeing him in potions, that's two. Those awful Slytherin girls, Amethyst and Priscilla, that's four."

Arcadia smirked, "Don't forget Jentry Farrigan from Hufflepuff and that cute little fifth year, Yuhvahnya Singer."

"At least no one towards our house is making eyes towards him," Shailly sighed.

Maeve frowned, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. I've noticed Scarlet Phipps following him around."

"Isn't she betrothed?" Arcadia gasped, "To that Watson fellow?"

"I don't think they came to an agreement on that. Poor girl, she's never even met him in person," Maeve shook her head.

"What are you three moping about for?" a familiar voice broke in, "I came to offer Miss Hargrove the newest band magazines from the states, but I can't give it to her if she wears such a long face, can I?"

Jesse Spiederman was a tall, lanky boy with Quidditch toned muscles and dark sarcastic eyes. He almost always had a languid smile on his face, and very much resembled some sort of big golden cat given to lazing about in trees all day. Jesse also happened to be one of Shailly's first friends at Hogwarts. He was a seventh year Ravenclaw, like her, and loved to spend time finding new ways to tease her.

Shailly grinned, meeting Jesse's eyes. He smirked, "But you don't want these, do you?"

"Hey," Shailly swiped at him, "Give me."

Effortlessly Jesse dodged Shailly's weak attack and slid into the open seat next to her. After a moment of dangling the magazines in front of her face, he handed them over. Maeve whipped them away the second they landed in Shailly's hand and then noticed the surprised look on her friend's faces, "What? You're going to flirt with Jesse now, right? Then you won't mind if I read them for the moment."

With that said, Maeve buried her head into one of the glossy magazines. Arcadia shrugged with an amused smile, returning to her conversation with the small group of boys who gathered around her every morning; among them popular Aristaeus Vaughn, the Kingsbury twins, and shy Hufflepuff Rusty Emerson.

"So you've been quite the hot topic this week," Jesse announced, turning Shailly's attention back to him. The sun streaming in through the windows of the Great hall caught the golden highlights in his wavy, honey colored hair. Everything about Jesse was like honey, from his hair to his complexion, to his voice and deliberate smile.

"Oh no," Shailly objected, "Not me. Karsh."

"Yeah, where is the bugger anyway? I haven't seen him once yet," Jesse didn't look too perturbed about this fact. He'd met Karsh once before when he'd come to call on Shailly at the mansion. Neither boy had liked each other very much. They were like polar opposites. Karsh was dark and wild and constantly shifting his way through girlfriends while Jesse was light and cultivated and had been single for all the time Shailly had known him. The only thing they had in common was their thirst for muggle music.

"Not sure," Shailly scowled, "He ditches breakfast every day and leaves me to fend off his admirers. Not quite fair, is it?"

Jesse laughed, "You pitiable girl. The real reason I wanted to talk to you is about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. Would you like to go with me?"

Shailly blinked, "Don't I always go with you?"

"Well yes, but this is a special one. It would be like a date, I suppose," Jesse suddenly seemed very serious, "I…er-well, I thought maybe it was time I asked you to go on a date, if you wanted it to be a date, and I mean…It would just be a friends-date."

He ran a hand through his hair anxiously as he waited for her answer.

"Why is it special?" Shailly asked, realizing even as she spoke that she was asking the wrong question.

"Haven't you heard? They're having a sort of extravaganza in honor of Hogsmeade's founding. It's like the fifth hundred year that the village has existed or something. So there's going to be all sorts of activities, and a dance, I've heard. It's a once in a lifetime chance."

Shailly bit back a smile. The way Jesse was looking at her, so earnest and nervous made her sort of proud. Truthfully, Shailly had never dated a guy in her life. Even if it was just a date as friends, she hadn't expected Jesse to be the one who asked her on her first. Still, she didn't really mind.

"Sure. I'll go with you," she responded.

Jesse beamed and hugged her, "Great. This is going to be bloody fantastic, I promise."

"What is going to be bloody fantastic?" a cold voice demanded of the two friends.

Shailly was pulled away from Jesse and was sitting straight as a rail before the voice was even done speaking, "Karsh!"

"Hi," he said darkly, lifting a foot over the bench to squeeze in between Jesse and Shailly.

Jesse's face clouded, but all he said was, "'Ello Hargrove. It's been a while."

Karsh's expression read that it hadn't yet been long enough, but he acknowledged Jesse with a curt nod. Then he turned to Shailly, "So?"

"There's this Hogsmeade weekend event thing," Shailly explained edgily, wondering why Karsh and Jesse could never get along, "And Jesse's just invited me."

"Oh. I'll come to," Karsh commented, starting to pile eggs and pasties onto his plate. Shailly noticed that Arcadia had stopped her conversation and was listening intently to Shailly's, and Maeve was also peering at the siblings out of the corner of her eye.

"Well no," Shailly started, but before she could speak, Jesse interrupted.

"I don't think so Hargrove. It's sort of a date."

Coldly, Karsh responded, "Sort of? How can something be sort of a date? It either is or it isn't."

Just as frosty, Jesse retorted, "It is."

Arcadia burst, "Shailly, really? You're going on a date with Jesse? That's great. I'm also going along with Shiloh."

Shiloh Kingsbury lit up radiantly, "You are?"

Arcadia nudged the twin in the abdomen with her elbow. He grimaced. Next to him, his fraternal twin brother, Wyatt started to laugh. Shailly frowned. She wished Arcadia wouldn't lead Shiloh on that way. The Kingsbury twins were some of their closest friends, and as far as Shailly could tell, Shiloh had been carrying the torch for Arcadia for some years. It was a lost cause though, as Arcadia fancied Shale Oakley, the rowdy Quidditch chaser who even now made a commotion at the end of the Ravenclaw table.

"Shut up," Shiloh told Wyatt, "It isn't like I have anyone to go with."

"Sure he does," Maeve piped in, "Wyatt, fancy going to the event with me?"

Wyatt considered the offer for a moment and then said, "Alright then."

Meanwhile, Karsh was telling Jesse, "You can't seriously think I'd let Shailly go off on a date alone with you."

"She doesn't need her brother to chaperone," Jesse replied levelly.

Karsh looked as though he desperately wanted to say something earth-shatteringly witty and cruel, but before he could, Arcadia suggested, "Why don't we all go together. As a group triple-er, quadruple date."

"But Karsh doesn't have a date," Jesse interjected, not seeming to like this new turn of events.

Karsh's face relaxed, and he called across the Ravenclaw table to the Gryffindor table, where a pretty girl named Lydia Moore sat, "Hey Lydia. I changed my mind. Why don't we go to Hogsmeade together?"

Lydia broke into a huge smile and nodded just as then entire Great Hall erupted into conversation. Shailly noticed Miriam Blake in particular, pouting in an extremely unladylike manner.

"You just love to cause a commotion, don't you?" Shailly inquired of Karsh.

He smiled and said, "Come on Shai. You know you love it."

"I do…but Lydia? She's a cow," Shailly informed the boy. Jesse opened his mouth to say something. Then he realized he was already locked out of the two's conversation. With a heavy sigh, he got up to leave. However, Shailly had noticed him packing his things and before he could walk away pulled him back down onto the bench.

Karsh narrowed his eyes, "It's not like you're taste is much better."

"Leave Jesse alone."

"Do you guys always argue like this?" Maeve demanded, "I'm having trouble reading my magazine."

Even though Shailly knew Maeve hadn't really been reading since they first started discussing Hogsmeade she answered guiltily, "Sorry."

Arcadia stood gracefully, announcing, "We have class, anyway."

* * *

Almost all of the Ravenclaw seventh years had done extraordinarily well on their OWLS. As a result, all of them were in Advanced Transfiguration along side their fellow Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Hufflepuffs who had managed to scrape by with an 'Exceeds Expectations' score. It made for a very crowded class.

Their Professor, a crazy little lady called Chelsie Snips had given them assigned seats. Shailly sat squeezed between a wraith like Slytherin girl named Hecuba Grant and a rather steamy Gryffindor called Arley Wright. So far she had come to both enjoy and loathe this seating arrangement. Hecuba had no qualms with calling Shailly stupid, but Arley would spend most of class entertaining her with stories of what mischief he got up to over the past few years. However, this particular class Arley seemed more interested in what had happened in the Great Hall. Gossip spread all too quickly at Hogwarts.

"So, your brother's a little possessive," he commented as she took a seat. Shailly glanced back at Karsh, who sat between a pompous Hufflepuff boy named Lionel Conroy and the very talkative Gryffindor Daisy Holbrook. He didn't look very happy.

"Yes, well," Shailly bristled, "He has his reasons."

"Calm down. I wasn't trying to insult him," Arley smiled, and Shailly felt her heartbeat quicken. Arley was quite possibly the most handsome boy at Hogwarts. He had these perfectly straight pearly white teeth and amazing blonde hair that was shaggy but not so much that he looked unclean. He was the keeper for Gryffindor's Quidditch team, and Jesse despised the fact that she spent Transfiguration consorting with the enemy.

"Sorry," Shailly sighed, "Things have been tense since Karsh got here. I didn't think everything would be quite so stressful."

Before Arley could come up with a suitable response, Professor Snips had silenced the class so that she could demonstrate the method of transfiguring a horse into a dragon. As no one wanted to be burnt alive by a scaly horse, they listened intently to her every instruction.

With a sigh, Shailly let her mind wander. She wondered if anyone would ever ask her out on a real date, and if Jesse actually had originally intended their Hogsmeade weekend to be a real date, and if he might not actually like her.

"It's not like I'm not attractive," she thought.

"You are. Attractive," Arley informed her. Shailly reddened. She hadn't realized she'd said so out loud.

"Do you think?" she asked tentatively, unsure why any guy as popular as Arley had even noticed.

"Sure. Hell, if you weren't already involved with someone, I'd date you," he smirked, "I've been thinking about asking you all week."

Shailly reddened even more. Why on earth was everyone suddenly interested in her today? She squeaked, "I'm not involved with anyone you know. Jesse and I…we're just friends."

Arley smirked, "I wasn't talking about Spiederman, Hargrove."

Puzzled, Shailly asked, "Then who?"

Arley just smiled and shook his head, "You girls are all so silly. You never notice what's right in front of your faces."

Hecuba haughtily tossed her pretty black hair and snarled, "It's not like boys are any more observant."

"Grant! I hadn't realized you were interested. Come, join the conversation," Arley cheered, "The more the merrier."

Hecuba looked as though she was very sorry indeed that she'd decided to say anything, but cleared her throat, "Boys don't notice it if a girl likes them for ages."

"Oh? Grant, have you been hiding a secret love?" Arley sidled up to the girl. She made a face and pushed him away.

"Who do you like Hecuba?" Shailly asked, a little less afraid of the Slytherin girl now that Arley was around.

"Let me guess. Shale Oakley," Arley guessed.

"No," Hecuba replied, tight lipped.

"Maybe its William Durret," Shailly suggested.

"No."

Arley decided to take another gander at it, "Me? Am I right, it's me?"

Hecuba replied hotly, "No, Wright, you conceited git. It's Aristaeus Vaughn, alright?"

She gasped as she realized she had revealed her secret. Arley sat back in his chair, "Aristaeus, hunh? That pale freak?"

"He's not a freak," Hecuba objected.

"He's dreamy," Shailly added, thinking of Aristaeus. He was a tall, aristocratic boy with a lovely voice. Even Karsh had commented that Aristaeus's voice was grade 'A' material. Having left his old band in America, Karsh was quite keen on starting a new one. The only thing was that Aristaeus had a certain arrogance about him that was hard to shake. So far, Karsh hadn't made much progress.

"Class," Professor Snips snapped, having noticed the various conversations around her, "I'd like you all to pay attention. This will be on your NEWTs."

* * *

Shailly groaned. For some reason, seventh year was making her feel like she'd like to curl up into a little ball and die.

It was past midnight, and Shailly had fallen asleep on the couch. Specifically, with her head on Karsh's lap. The redhead stared hard at his almost-sister. He couldn't even begin to describe how happy he'd been when his parents had told him he was going to go to Hogwarts.

However…Karsh gently moved Shailly so that he could lay down on the big, blue velvety couch along side her. He felt his heartbeat increase, and groaned, pulling the girl against him. He didn't know how long he would be able to pretend. His parents had something planned for him, something bad. Shailly obviously didn't know, and he wouldn't tell her. Any time that he could spend with her peacefully, like this, was worth whatever the future had in store.

That was the other thing. Karsh didn't know how long he would be able to control himself. His heart was pounding now. He recalled Shailly asking him oh so innocently who the girl he liked was. Pressing a soft kiss against Shailly's cheek, Karsh whispered, "Come on, Shai. Hurry up and figure it already."

* * *

Sorry, that was supposed to be much longer, carrying into the Hogsmeade date. Anyway, I actually have to catch a train, which is why the shortness. I just wanted to post SOMETHING. 


	3. Love Me Like a Star

**Jinx Proof Cursive**

_Chapter 3: Love Me Like A Star_

By: Jondy Macmillan

A/N: Ahem. Sorry for that last chapter being so short. I don't know if anyone reads this, so perhaps I shouldn't even apologize, but…well, for my own peace of mind, I suppose.

* * *

School days passed more quickly than any of them expected. Before they knew it, their first Hogsmeade weekend had approached. It was a cool, breezy autumn day. The foliage was shifting from green to red to yellow-brown more quickly than it had any other year, and the students enjoyed the sight as they tramped over to the village.

Shailly loved Hogsmeade weekends. It was one of the only times she didn't have to wear her uniform with the thick, starchy collar that made her neck itch. She missed the familiar feeling of her robes, but it was nice to be back in muggle clothes for the most part. For the 'date' occasion she'd donned casual faded jeans that made her legs and butt look nicer than they were and a cute orange, brown, and red print top. It was sleeveless, so she'd decided to don a dark, burnt ochre cloak against the chill air. Maeve and Arcadia were also wearing cloaks in shades of turquoise and blood red. Arcadia had dressed less than conventionally in a red mini dress that offset her blazing hair and high heeled boots. No one was sure whether Arcadia was trying to impress Shiloh Kingsbury or if she had her own personal agenda. She certainly looked the part of a seductive witch, however. Maeve, on the other hand preferred simple black corduroy and a yellow and black print top despite her flash cloak.

The boys looked quite nice as well. All wore varying shades of faded denim jeans. Shiloh and Wyatt wore sweaters in different shades of cerulean while Jesse wore a more traditional tan version that brought out his bronzed skin. Karsh wore a black, collared shirt with a gray tribal print. He didn't look the least bit cold.

And then there was stupid Lydia. Shailly, Maeve, and Arcadia couldn't stand her presence. The entire way to Hogsmeade Karsh was regaling her with tales of gigs he played with his zany band mates in the states. She spent most of her time fluttering her eyelashes like she might have a seizure and giggling obnoxiously.

"She's not much better than Flicka Raike," Shailly told her friends, annoyed.

"No offense Shai, but I think you worry too much about the company your brother keeps," Maeve observed, caught up in the passionate discussion Shiloh and Wyatt were having about aged Firewhisky. The boys seemed to be alcoholics in a constant state of recovery and relapse.

"I think it's nice that you two are so close," Arcadia put in sweetly. She was hanging off Shiloh's arm, and he seemed to be in heaven despite his absorption in the conversation with his twin.

"I think you shouldn't worry about Karsh and Lydia," Jesse chirped from behind her, "We're almost there. This is supposed to be fun."

"Stop complaining," Maeve snapped at Jesse as the village came into view.

She didn't get a chance to continue what looked to be an interesting insult because Arcadia exclaimed loudly, "Oh! Ileana!"

A beautiful wisp of a girl with long, midnight colored hair and light eyes glanced up. She had been sitting on a fencepost staring longingly at falling leaves. Nobody thought it was strange; Ileana Webster was always quiet and introspective that way. She was a fifth year Ravenclaw, and Arcadia's little sister.

Arcadia and Ileana came from a rich family. Actually, the Webster's were one of the most renowned in the wizarding world. Shailly had always been surprised when she first learned of Arcadia's family's reputation that she hadn't met the girl earlier. The Hargrove family was both wealthy and powerful, and Quinn and Saxon loved to mingle with those even more elite than themselves.

Although Maeve often liked to contribute Arcadia's popularity to her family's prestige, the truth was that both Webster sisters were extraordinarily beautiful and exceptionally kind. Of course, Maeve had trouble accepting that. She came from a lower income magical family somewhere out in the boondocks. She often professed to despise her parents and claimed that muggle music had been the only saving grace of her childhood. She once remarked that she would have died of boredom and depression otherwise.

Arcadia and Shailly personally felt that Maeve was a bit of a drama queen, but never would have told the rather violent girl such.

"Cady," Ileana smiled softly at her older sister, "I didn't know you were coming."

"Oh yes," Arcadia beamed, "You know I hate missing Hogsmeade weekends."

Ileana nodded sagely, "I should have known."

"Are you with anyone today? Why don't you come with us?" Wyatt demanded, his wild, tilted eyes narrowed. Shailly and Maeve started. Wyatt was staring at Ileana in an intense manner that could only mean one thing. Instantly, Maeve's good mood fell through.

"Actually, I have a date with Rusty Emerson," Ileana perked up, "He's super nice."

"Super nice," Maeve mocked menacingly.

"Behave," Shailly hissed, elbowing her friend. Jesse, eager to avoid a confrontation, pulled Shailly by her elbow down the dirt path to the village.

"Hey," Shailly protested, laughing.

"Come on. That is one love triangle we do not need to get in the middle of," Jesse supplied easily, "Anyway, we have a festival to enjoy."

* * *

The festival was truly stunning. Whoever ran the village of Hogsmeade had gone all out. Every store window was fronted with a long table full of goodies, a veritable side walk sale. Wet start fireworks went off every ten minutes, blazing through the clear sky in a mess of color and sparks. Streamers were hung practically everywhere they could be, including festooning the shrieking shack near the edge of town. A local witch band was playing on a makeshift stage near the center of town, where a bake sale was simultaneously being held. There were also carnival-like booths at every corner offering everything from face painting to darkly bound journals to fresh produce. The entire village was packed with witches and wizards from all parts of Britain come to celebrate the five hundredth birthday of the famous location. The noise and sights were overwhelming.

"You were right!" Shailly exclaimed breathlessly, "This is amazing."

They ventured into almost every shop that day. Shailly 'ooh'ed and 'ah'ed over the luxury items at Silveryce's boutique, while Jesse spent a full hour in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They considered making a foray into Madam Puttifoot's, but after glimpsing the pained expression on Jesse's face, Shailly deemed it unnecessary. Occasionally they bumped into Arcadia, Shiloh, Ileana, and Wyatt, and Maeve. The prickly witch seemed extremely agitated that her crush refused to leave young Ileana Webster's side, while Arcadia appeared to be on the lookout for someone or something. Poor Shiloh looked to be at a loss amongst his love struck brother, absent minded Arcadia, irritable Maeve, and shy Ileana.

"I wonder if we should save him," Jesse mused aloud.

Shailly grinned and said, "He can fend for himself. He's happier being near Arcadia anyway. Poor brute."

"You're awful, you know that?" Jesse told her. She grinned happily.

The only downside of the afternoon was when Jesse coerced her into visiting the shrieking shack, where they found Karsh and Lydia sequestered away from prying eyes.

"We could leave," Jesse suggested, catching Karsh throw him a stern glare.

"No, no," Shailly argued, "It's nice here."

The truth was she wanted to keep an eye on Lydia, but she never would have admitted that to Jesse. Trying to look carefree, Shailly perched herself on one of the fence rails in front of the shack.

Jesse grinned, walking over and placing both palms on either side of her on the fence. Shailly remembered that back when she'd first started Hogwarts, Jesse had been her first friend. She hadn't really liked him all that much then. He had been the only one who would fend off the kids who made fun of her, but at the same time, he had enjoyed making fun of her also. The only thing that had really attracted her to Jesse was his grin. It was what Quinn had called a killer's grin, which sounded worse than it was. The facial expression was so confident, so completely effortless, and even when he was ten, sort of dangerous looking. If she really thought about it, Karsh smiled in much the same way.

"So," Jesse asked, "Are you having fun? You've been kind of quiet all day."

Shailly didn't think she'd been all that quiet, but she had to admit, she might have been slightly more taciturn than usual. Despite all the fun she was having, there just seemed to be one person she couldn't get off her mind.

"Yeah," Shailly enthused, but it sounded sort of false. Covering quickly, Shailly said the first thing that came to mind, "You know this is my first date, right?"

The blonde boy nodded, "I know. I'm glad to do the honors."

"I feel bad though, dragging you out like this."

"I'm the one who asked you, remember. And don't think I did it out of pity."

"What?" Shailly wondered.

Jesse frowned, "I told you that this was special to me, Shai. I…I didn't mean to ask you out just as friends. I meant to ask you on a real date. You know, as in, I like you."

Her entire body stilled. Shailly blinked, "What?"

Suddenly the blue sky seemed so much bluer, the smell of wet, mossy grass was so much stronger, and the sound of Lydia giggling over something Karsh had said was all too much louder. Shailly noticed that Shiloh Kingsbury had discovered her almost-brother and his almost-date and was starting to talk to them. Oh, poor Shiloh, Shailly thought, wondering why Arcadia was so cruel to him.

For some reason, she couldn't really concentrate on what Jesse had said.

Jesse smiled, leaning in close and whispering, "I really do like you."

Shailly reddened. When had Jesse started to feel this way? Why would he tell her now? More than that, she felt like she was drowning. Over Jesse's shoulder, Shailly could see Karsh. He was deep in a discussion with Lydia and Shiloh. The beautiful Gryffindor girl was smiling and tossing her hair, prancing about like a filly at a show. Lydia was so distracting that she barely heard Jesse's next words.

"So what do you say, Shailly?"

His breath was hot on her ear and slightly tickled. Shailly couldn't help but stiffen when Karsh's deep blue eyes met hers over the blonde's shoulder. He looked curious, and almost irritated. Then, abruptly, Karsh shrugged it off, glancing back at Lydia. Shailly felt her stomach drop. It felt like water was slowly enveloping her, suffocating her. She didn't know what to say to Jesse. Merlin, she didn't even know if she was still breathing.

As if to prove that she was still alive, Jesse pulled back a little, only to surge forward again. This time, his lips weren't against her ear. The kiss was chaste, and a little awkward. Neither had much experience at this kind of thing. Still, it was nice. Just as Shailly had finally relaxed and given herself over to the feeling of being kissed, Jesse's body was suddenly wrenched away from hers.

"What do you think you're doing, mate?" Jesse asked his attacker levelly, his tone low and dangerous.

Karsh's eyes were brilliantly fierce. Shailly wasn't sure if she'd ever seen her almost-brother look quite so furious. Instead of answering, Karsh turned away and stalked off down the dirt path. Before Shailly could go after him, Jesse was already at the redhead's heels.

"Let them go," Shiloh placed a hand on Shailly's shoulder. She quietly agreed, wondering what they should do about Lydia Moore, who was shooting harsh glares in Shailly's direction. They could always just abandon her at the Shrieking Shack, she supposed.

* * *

Karsh was headed away from the village, even though he didn't know that. His sense of direction was terrible. He had noticed that the trees were growing thicker along the path, and out of frustration, her reeled back and punched one, hard. He cursed his now bloodied knuckles, but didn't really care about the pain. It was more relaxing than anything else.

"Hargrove, what the hell was that all about?"

Great. Karsh mentally swore. Jesse Spiederman had always been one of his least favorite people. He hadn't been able to help tearing Jesse away from Shailly. What right did Jesse have to place his slimy paws all over Shailly when Karsh could never have that right? It had been a mixture of anger, frustration, jealousy, and even guilt that had caused Karsh's reaction.

"I was protecting Shailly," Karsh lied easily, turning to face Jesse.

The blonde crossed his arms, "You're taking the bonds of sibling love a little too far, aren't you?"

Karsh winced. If only he knew how far.

"Shailly doesn't need a jerk like you," Karsh replied coolly.

"She doesn't need her brother pounding all her potential dates, either. What are you going to do when she grows up and gets married? Beat her husband to a pulp?"

Karsh gulped. He couldn't stand the thought of the future. He never had been able to. At his pale expression, Jesse crowed, "See? What would you do if that husband was me?"

Karsh replied seriously, "That's easy. Murder you and hide the body."

Un-phased, Jesse mocked, "So what, you don't want your sister to be happy?"

"Don't call her my sister," Karsh exploded, which was probably his first mistake. His second was when he exclaimed, "Of course I want Shailly to be happy. I just want her to be happy with-"

He stopped short, realizing that he was speaking the words he'd sworn never to say aloud.

"You're in love with her," Jesse accused him incredulously. It only took him seconds to assess the situation, and one second more to make a move. His golden features were overcome with ice, "What she would do if I told her, I wonder?"

"Don't you dare," Karsh ordered coldly.

"You can't control me, Hargrove," Jesse smirked, and then he added, "I won't say anything. I don't want Shailly to be hurt after all. Her big brother loves her. How disgusting. How unnatural."

Karsh's first impulse was to growl and lunge at the honey haired boy, but instead he kept his fists close to his sides, clenching and unclenching until his heart stopped pounding so furiously.

"If I have to fight to keep loving her," he whispered, "I will."

Disdainfully, Jesse observed the redhead. He looked like he wanted to spout angry words. He didn't. He chose the higher path, walking away, leaving Karsh alone. Karsh glanced at the sky, endless blue seeming too bright for his mood.

"Fuck," he whispered. He didn't know who he was cursing; Jesse, the sky, or himself.

* * *

"And so," Arcadia was saying, "I had a good time. I love spending time with Ileana."

"What about Shiloh?" Maeve emphasized, annoyed, "You sort of ditched your date."

"So?" Arcadia shrugged, "The only reason I asked Shiloh to come was because he was there. I had to go to keep an eye on our Shailly, didn't I?"

"You cow," Shailly mumbled from her spot on her bed, "Shiloh Kingsbury is head over heels for you. And he's heart breaking-ly sweet. You're a fool to keep leading him on."

Arcadia had the grace to look slightly abashed, "It's not that I don't think Shiloh is sweet. He's positively saccharine. I just…well, Shale is so much…more."

"You're so shallow sometimes," Maeve mused.

"What about you?" Shailly interjected, "You do know that Wyatt didn't want to go with you, right?"

"Yes, as if I hadn't noticed him making eyes at Ileana all day. Maybe I can get them both back. Who'd Ileana say she was dating? He never showed up."

"Rusty Emerson, wasn't it?" Arcadia asked disinterestedly. She was in the process of painting her nails a deep crimson color.

"Great. Rusty," Maeve said thoughtfully, "Think I could get him to fall for me?"

"That's mean, Maeve," Arcadia objected, suddenly aware of the conversation, "Don't damage my little sister."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Arcadia," Maeve chirped. Even though Arcadia looked appeased by the answer, Shailly could practically see the schemes forming in Maeve's head to lure Rusty away from Ileana. She wanted to make Wyatt jealous and teach Ileana a lesson all at the same time. Somehow, Shailly could tell this plan wouldn't go quite the way Maeve wanted.

"So what about you, Shai? How did it go with Jesse?"

"Oh," Shailly paused, remembering the last question her best friend had asked her before they'd gone up to their respective rooms, "He asked me to go out with him."

"And what did you say?" Arcadia perked up.

Shailly wanted to tell them about the struggle that had ensued in her heart. She wanted to tell them that even as Jesse asked his question, she'd been absentmindedly wondering if Karsh and Lydia were snogging in a darkened corridor. But she knew what they'd say, about her and Karsh's relationship. She could already imagine the looks of horror on their faces if she expressed her feelings about her almost-brother.

Taking a deep breath, all she told them was, "I said yes, of course."

"Of course. Wow, Shailly. Jesse Spiederman is so hot," Maeve shook her head, "I never did know why he chose you to be friends with our first year."

"What's wrong with me?" Shailly demanded.

"Well, you're sort of plain. Not in a bad way," Arcadia quickly corrected herself, "I mean you're pretty and nice. You've got a temper, but you're smart and…I don't know. I guess you have that girl-next-door vibe. Jesse isn't the kind of guy you'd expect to go for that."

"Yeah. You'd think he wanted the wild type," Maeve said.

"I can be wild," Shailly objected.

"Well we know that. You party hard," Maeve said doubtfully, "But I meant a different kind of wild, I guess. A more experienced wild."

Shailly frowned. Why did her friends seem more surprised than happy for her about Jesse's invite?

"Hey," a pretty Ravenclaw girl with dark hair peeked her head into the room.

"What's up, Scarlet?" Arcadia asked easily. Scarlet Phipps was quite possibly the only other girl in school that the three were close to.

"Actually," Scarlet blushed, "Two things. I wanted to ask Shailly if Karsh was dating anybody."

Shailly groaned and buried her head into her pillow, "I refuse to answer that for the thirtieth time. No offense Scarlet."

"He just dumped his last girlfriend, and no, as far as we know he's not dating Lydia Moore," Maeve input tiredly.

"Oh!" Scarlet brightened.

"Why do you even care? I thought you were betrothed or something," Maeve asked rather meanly.

Scarlet frowned, her blue eyes troubled, "Apparently Evander has his sights set on somebody else."

"Who?" All three girls gasped, suddenly interested. If nothing else, they had to keep up on the Hogwarts gossip.

"Miriam Blake," Scarlet mumbled abashedly, "He met her in Diagon Alley before school started and thinks she's extraordinarily pretty."

"Miriam's a cow," Shailly said sympathetically, "And Evander Watson is quite possibly the world's biggest prat. You don't need him."

"That's true," Scarlet replied hesitantly. For a girl who only days ago had been completely against the engagement, she certainly seemed to care more than she should have.

Evander Watson had graduated from Hogwarts two years ago. He came from a considerably wealthy family, like Scarlet's. Actually, all of Shailly's friends were at least moderately wealthy. Quinn and Saxon wouldn't let her get away with associating with the poor or middle class.

"Anyway, I don't think you should be filling the gap Evander leaves with my…brother," Shailly finished. Scarlet, Maeve, and Arcadia glanced at her strangely. The way she'd paused before saying brother must have seemed rather off to them.

"Oh, of course not," Scarlet responded hastily, and Shailly knew the girl was completely ignoring her advice.

"What was the second question?" Maeve demanded.

"What?"

"The second question," Arcadia prompted.

Puzzled, Scarlet thought for a moment. Then realization dawned, "Oh! Karsh wants to see you."

Shailly scowled at the girl. Scrambling off her bed she snapped, "It shouldn't have taken you five minutes to tell me that!"

Karsh was sitting in the common room working on his astronomy homework. It was his favorite subject. Back home, he could spend the entire night staring at the stars. Shailly secretly thought it was a childhood habit from when he would be too scared to sleep alone in his room with the ghosts. He liked to say the stars made him feel like he wasn't alone.

"Sorry. You choose the worst messengers," Shailly explained as she plopped down beside her adoptive brother.

"Scarlet seems like a good girl," Karsh replied, raising an eyebrow, "Slightly stalker-ish, but nice."

"She is good," Shailly grinned, "But absent minded."

After a moment's pause, Shailly asked finally, "So what was today all about?"

"Today?" Karsh queried innocently.

Smacking the redhead playfully on the head, Shailly demanded, "Yes, today. You know, interrupting my first kiss and all?"

"Ehehe," Karsh chuckled nervously, "It was more instinct than anything. I was trying to protect you, I guess. Wait a second, that was your first-"

"That isn't important," Shailly reddened. Wisely, Karsh decided to say nothing more on the subject. Slinging an arm around her shoulders, he grinned.

"What?"

"What?" he asked with an angelic smile.

"You're up to something," she told him suspiciously.

"I am not," he protested.

"Are too," Shailly accused.

"Now what would make you think I'm up to something?"

"Instinct," Shailly frowned, "I've known you for eight years, boy. Don't think your tricky smile fools me."

"I would never dream of it," Karsh replied innocently. Already in his mind, he was formulating a plan.

* * *


	4. Clouds Overhead

**Jinx Proof Cursive**

_Chapter 4: _Clouds Overhead

By: Jondy Macmillan

A/N: Yeah…I know this story doesn't have much of a plot except for fluff yet, and I can't promise that it will. It's planned out as ten chapters of romance and angst and not much else, because it all lays the setting for Giddy Brew.

* * *

Karsh wasn't talking to her. It had been two weeks now, and Shailly's adoptive brother was all but avoiding her. Oh, it was subtle, she'd give him that. He didn't dodge her in the hallways or completely ignore her if she asked him a direct question. But any words he cast in her direction were terse, and if he didn't directly avoid her, he at least kept away from her usual routes. Even in classes they shared, he chose the seats farthest away from her.

The female population of the school was particularly happy about this fact. Apparently they'd seen the 'younger sister' as a barrier that was now successfully eliminated. Some little third year had gone so far as to shout at Shailly that'd she'd been hogging Karsh. But now…House divisions no longer mattered; girls from every house, every walk of life, and every year (including a couple of eleven year olds which Shailly might have found cute if she wasn't so completely grossed out) flocked to the lawn outside to join the still warm end of September air with one Karsh Hargrove.

Sure, it grated that her brother was so popular. Shailly had never known what it felt like to have people gather around her in some sort of half-worship with stars in their eyes. Honestly Shailly didn't want to know what it felt like. She didn't think she had much to offer, and it wasn't some sort of false modesty that made her think that. She really would not have been able to entertain a huge group. She might have tripped and earned a few polite laughs, but that would have been the extent of her power of persuasion.

"The Hargrove hotness," Maeve commented, following Shailly's gaze to where Karsh was leaving the Great Hall, Miriam Blake, Scarlet Phipps, Lydia Moore, and a gaggle of other star-struck school girls trailing along behind him.

"Way to go," some Hufflepuff boy Shailly had never seen before bumped hard into her shoulder and when she turned around to glare, he returned it with such ferocity that she had to look down.

"Jerk," Maeve shouted after him, meeting his look with a razor sharp one of her own.

"That was so rude," Arcadia agreed, chewing thoughtfully on a bite of pumpkin pasty.

"Okay, I may have never been popular, but Karsh is making me into a pariah," Shailly groaned, banging her head against a table, "I never thought I'd say this, but life was better when he was at Shimmercobble."

Maeve grinned, "I'd like to go to Shimmercobble. American boys, mmmm."

Arcadia batted playfully at her face, trying to wipe away her lewd smile, "You're disgusting. I thought you were after Rusty Emerson."

"No, I'm after Wyatt. Rusty is an ends to a means."

Before Arcadia could start up on the rant she'd been reusing ever since the Hogsmeade trip about using Rusty Emerson to get back at Wyatt and her little sister, Maeve continued, "Anyway, you're not a pariah, Shai. The girls like you."

"The girls like the fact that I'm safe," Shailly replied, "Because I'm his sister."

"Why do you always say it like that?" Arcadia demanded suddenly.

"Say what?"

"Sister," Arcadia had put her fork down, "You always say it like it's some kind of dirty word."

Shailly frowned. She wasn't sure if that was true. But it could be, "Did I ever tell you guys I was adopted?"

Maeve and Arcadia met her statement with blank looks. Shailly shrank beneath their gaze, and grabbed a roll to stuff in her mouth so at least she could distract herself from feeling so small.

Her friends waited for her to finish chewing before the question barrage came.

"What?" Arcadia demanded, pushing her veil of deep red hair out of her face, "Why wouldn't you mention that before?"

"I guess you're not so safe," Maeve mused, "That means you and Karsh could fuck."

Shailly's head swiveled toward her auburn haired friend, "Um. No. It doesn't."

"Maeve, that's crude," admonished Arcadia. She was drumming her perfectly manicured nails against the table in the way that her friends' knew indicated she was nervous.

"But true," Maeve took a huge gulp of her water and laughed, "So you're adopted?"

"I guess adopted isn't exactly the right word. I'm muggle born."

Again with the blank looks. Shailly took a deep breath, "When I was nine, I met this lady in the street. Quinn Hargrove, my mother. She was so pretty, and I was covered in dirt…I did a little bit of magic. I didn't think about it, but a week later, there she was. She bought me from my parents for seventy five thousand pounds, which seemed like a lot of money until I actually saw the mansion the Hargrove's live in."

"So…you were bought," Maeve blinked. Her lack of tact was always extraordinary.

"That's horrible," Arcadia's eyes relayed so much sympathy that Shailly felt herself starting to squirm.

"I guess. I mean I've thought about going to find my parents again; I've never heard from them since. But…they weren't that good at being parents to begin with."

"What's your real last name then?"

"Maeve," Arcadia warned.

"Before it was legally changed, my name was Shailly McCallister."

Maeve leaned close, scrutinizing her face, "Nope. You still look like a Hargrove to me. Minus the hot factor."

"Gee, thanks," Shailly stood up, brushing crumbs off her robes.

"So I forget why you and Karsh are fighting again," lips brushed against her ear, "Not that I'm complaining about it or anything."

"I don't believe I mentioned why," Shailly grinned as Jesse slid onto the bench beside her. He put his arms around her shoulder like it belonged there.

"It's because of you," Maeve interjected bluntly, "He doesn't like you dating his little sister."  
"Which he maybe probably wouldn't have found out about if somebody didn't blab," Shailly shot a meaningful look at her friend who looked completely unabashed.

Maeve shrugged, "He would have found out eventually. You know how the gossip mill around here works."

"And you dating Jesse is definitely something to gossip about," Arcadia trailed off as she spotted Shale Oakley across hall. Shale was a good looking guy. A member of the Quidditch team along with Jesse, he had the trademark wiry muscles that came along with rigorous hours on a broomstick, tan skin, and sunbleached hair. He had a pearly white smile and freckles on his nose, and his winning personality attracted a lot of girls. He'd been dating Miriam's friend Daisy Holbrook for a while last year, but they'd had a rough breakup and he hadn't been with anyone since. Arcadia couldn't keep her eyes off him.

"Hey, Cady," Shailly asked tentatively, "Do you want to come hang out with me at Quidditch practice today?"

"I thought you didn't want to watch me practice," Jesse teased, already knowing where she was going.

"I changed my mind. We could go after classes and you know, maybe…"

"Maybe I could hook you and Shale up," Jesse finished for her. Arcadia's eyes lit up, but only for a second.

"I don't need help getting guys, Jesse," she replied primly. Jesse held up his hands.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Just go with him, Arcadia," Maeve breathed, standing, "I'll be otherwise occupied and won't be able to entertain you anyway."

"I'm not a dog," Arcadia huffed, "I don't need entertainment."

"We know," Shailly replied soothingly, but she was smiling.

* * *

When Shailly was little, she'd been tough; a real tomboy. She was still a little tough now, but when compared with Maeve, who could be a brawler, and Arcadia, who had the kind of classy confidence she'd always wanted, Shailly always came out lacking. Still, that didn't mean Shailly couldn't hold her own amongst a group of rowdy, smelly boys. Or so she'd always thought until Jesse brought her to Quidditch practice.

Squished on the locker room bench between Shale Oakley and a big boy with brown skin and rather pungent armpits, Shailly squirmed. Arcadia was leaning against the wall, as ladylike as possible, trying to close her eyes against this bonanza of flesh. Apparently, the entire Quidditch team, including the two girls on it, had no qualms with being buck ass naked.

"Oy, Oakley. Are you sitting next to my girlfriend with no pants on?" Jesse emerged from the shower in a burst of steam, a white towel slung low around his hips, rivulets of water dripping down his face, streaming down his chest and thighs, indignation written across his face.

Shale was indeed sitting next to Shailly with absolutely nothing on. Shailly's face was beet red, and she would have moved if the stupid boy on the other side of her, who was also sporting a conspicuous absence of clothing chattered on and on about their last game against Slytherin the previous year. At least he wore a towel.

"Come on, Spied. You took too long in the shower, and I don't like the smell of your girly soaps," Shale whined, standing and exposing his backside to Shailly's face. She quickly turned away, but doubted the imprint of that image would ever fade. Maeve would have told her to suck it up, as it could be worse. The view was nice, at any rate.

Maeve would probably be pissed as all get out that she had missed that.

"You know," Jesse raised an eyebrow, "I was going to set you up-"

"With a girl?" Shale squeaked excitedly, his macho image vanishing.

"With a girl," Jesse affirmed, "But now that you're flashing your arse at my girl, I think I'm starting to reconsider."

"Sorry ma'am," Shale bowed deeply in Shailly's direction, parts of his anatomy bobbing up and down right in plain view. Shailly covered her eyes with her arms.

"I'm scarred!" She cried.

Jesse chuckled dryly, apparently amused by her pain. He would be, Shailly thought bitterly, he was the one who dragged her into this market of man meat. Quidditch practice had gone just swell, but when it had ended and Arcadia and Shailly had made to leave, Jesse had begged and pleaded they wait for him. Jerk.

"Could you set me up with this babe?" Shale gestured to Arcadia, who'd trussed herself up just for the occasion. She wore a tight, slinky black dress that was totally inappropriate for anything other than long romantic dinners followed by long steamy passionate sex.

Arcadia's eyes popped open. Even naked, or especially naked, Shale held a certain appeal. She'd nearly fainted when he started stripping off his clothes, and despite what Shailly thought, she'd been peeking out from half closed eyes. Arcadia Webster may have been proper, but she wasn't stupid.

"You mean me?" she asked.

"Of course, honey. You want to be my Valentine?" Shale joked, walking up to her. At the last minute before his body pressed against Arcadia's, one of the girls on the team hurried over and tied a towel around the boy's waist. He pouted, shouting after her, "No fair, Deanna!"

"Bite me Oakley!" was the clever response of the girl, who had ducked into the showers. Shailly wanted to be on the Quidditch team. Shailly wanted to have coed showers. On second thought, no, bad, bad, bad thoughts.

Shailly shook her head as Jesse sat beside her, now wearing a pair of unbuttoned jeans. Shailly caught sight of a trail of golden hair leading down to places her mind couldn't quite process.

"Help me," Shailly mouthed, indicating her trapped arm.

"Mate," Jesse muttered to the smelly boy, "Can you let go? Shailly and I need to…talk."

"Talk," the boy hooted, "Sure, go have fun talking!"

"Pervert," Jesse said under his breath, pulling Shailly away. In the time she'd been distracted, she saw that Arcadia had made her move, pulling Shale into what could only be called a fiery, fervent snog.

"Arcadia Webster, you slut," Shailly whispered as they passed by her on the way out the door. Not breaking her kiss, Arcadia swatted a hand toward her and Shailly laughed, singing out, "Careful, else Shale's towel might fall."

Jesse was pulling on a T-shirt as they emerged into the still bright sunlight.

"So what would you like to do the rest of this fine day?" he asked brightly, "We could study in the library, with all the other dull young kids."

"I do need to study," Shailly admitted.

"Or," Jesse smirked, "We could sneak out to Hogsmeade. I heard they're having a battle of the bands."

"What if we get caught?"

"Well, students aren't invited without special permission from the headmistress, but luckily…we won't get caught. None of the teachers are going, and I have an in with Madame Rosmerta."

"Meaning we hide in the back?" Shailly laughed.

Jesse grinned, "I knew you'd understand."

"I don't know."

"Come on Shai. It's an American girl band verses a Brit one…"

"Which American girl band?" Shailly asked suspiciously.

"Bloody Paramour," Jesse winked, waiting expectantly. Shailly didn't let him down. She practically screamed as she jumped into his arms.

"Seriously? Farica Reiker's band, here? They've never done an overseas tour! I wonder why now?" she paused in her excitement, but only for a moment.

"So I take it you want to go?"

"You bloody well know I do. Let's go now. Please, Jesse?"

"Okay, okay. Let's go."

* * *

They used one of the most travelled secret passages to Hogsmeade. Every first year class discovered one, and Shailly's was no different. She and her friends hadn't been the explorers who found this one; instead it had been inherited from an older sister of a girl in their class. Luckily, the girl was the biggest blabbermouth in the school. Now pretty much the entire seventh year was using the passage for some odd thing at least once a week.

Popping up towards the south end of town, Jesse and Shailly made their way towards the Three Broomsticks with a skip in their steps. Jesse was satisfied that he'd made his new girlfriend happy, although he'd known it would. Ever since this gig was announced, he'd planned on taking Shailly. Only initially he'd thought he'd have to drag along Maeve and Arcadia as well.

Not that he disliked the other girls; they just spent a lot of time discussing boys and makeup, things he couldn't really relate to. In fact, music was pretty much the one thing Jesse had in common with all three. That's how he'd found Shailly in first year. Halfway through the term he'd spied her bundled up in the statue of the three oracles, snoozing away with a copy of some music rag in her lap. He'd poked her awake and then they'd had a brilliant debate on the topic of girls with guitars.

In that session he'd discovered all he need to know about Shailly. She hated female vocalists, depressing songs were her secret fetish, she couldn't stand pop, and she couldn't understand why her mother kept telling her she was too young to go to a live house in London.

Jesse's parents had met in Hogwarts. They'd been sweethearts with a quick marriage, the dark times compelling them to wed quickly. His mom ran away and never came back, and only five years later did they find out that she hadn't left his dad like they'd thought but that she was killed in a raid by dark wizards. They'd transmogrified her body so that it couldn't be found. Still, the whole debacle had screwed his dad up well and good. His father insisted that Jesse be the best at everything, from schoolwork to sports. Music was the one thing Jesse had for himself.

A flyer in raging neon pink at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks announced the battle. In bold black letters in read 'Rabid Beaver versus Bloody Paramour'.

"I hope Rabid Beaver has male vocals," Shailly wrinkled her nose. She still hated female singers. Farica Reiker was the only exception.

They'd changed their clothes before Quidditch practice, luckily enough, as there was a ban on Hogwarts students entering, according to the announcement on the doorframe, with explicit permission. Luckily, the place looked packed. It was approaching eight o clock; the bands would start playing in ten minutes, and hopefully the whole pub would get moving. Jesse was surprised that Madame Rosmerta had agreed to host the show, but he figured she had to have been paid decently for her efforts. That or maybe she had a secret punk rock fetish.

They slid into the first available booth, which actually was already half occupied, and ordered two butter beers. Jesse wanted to spike them, but didn't have anything to do it with, and besides, it wouldn't do to be trashed for early morning potions the next day.

Rabid Beaver went first. The front woman wore a sugar pink concoction of taffeta that had Shailly railing against her from the get go, and their music was greeted with lukewarm applause. One or two brave witches and wizards swayed to the beat, but they definitely weren't the greatest of picks. When Bloody Paramour came on, Shailly wondered that she'd never heard such a commotion. Chairs were knocked over, feet stomping the floors, and people threw their bodies to the beat against walls and other people. Shailly didn't even want to attempt to get up from the booth, but Jesse forced her to get up and held the sea of people at a safe distance so that she could rock to the beat.

Farica Reiker was a beautiful girl with a tan, hard abdomen and thick, lustrous hair the color of polished oak. Her voice was raw and smoky, ringing out against the poor acoustics of the pub and carrying over the rowdy voices of the witches and wizards who attempted to sing along with her. Even Jesse was humming some of the lyrics in her ear, and Shailly would be sure to tease him about it later. He had wrapped his arms around her waist as they swayed, even the floor pulsing beneath them with every beat of the drum.

When the set was over, Farica called out, "How'd you like that Hogsmeade?"

The crowd roared their approval.

"Did we win?" Farica demanded, egging them on. The crowd called out a triumphant 'yes', and Shailly noticed the lead singer of Rabid Beaver throw back a shot of firewhiskey and throw Farica a dirty look. Farica must have noticed, because a smug expression settled on her face.

"Alright Hogsmeade, would you like another surprise?"

"Yes!" the crowd eagerly cheered back, and Shailly felt her veins racing, adrenaline pumping through her. She was part of the crowd, and their energy was too contagious.

"For one night only, before they disband, I'd like to introduce my own personal favorite band, whose lead singer is a very close friend," she winked, hooded bedroom eyes drawing them all in, "I am proud to bring in to the Three Broomsticks for a final time…Cruciatas!"

The crowd cheered, interested in a band that would name itself after one of the unforgivable, but Shailly had gone stiff in Jesse's arms.

"Shai?" he whispered, wondering what was wrong. Seconds later his question was answered, as Karsh stepped out onto the stage, a guitar in hand. A handsome boy took over vocals, followed by a half naked wizard on drums and another with bass, but Shailly's eyes stayed on Karsh.

She thought she'd feel upset that he hadn't told her he was playing, but the truth was, she was more excited than anything else. It had been a long time since she'd seen Karsh's band play, and it was only right that she was here before they disbanded completely. She'd been sad to miss their last show in America, and had never thought that the other three guys would make their way over to the UK.

Karsh's guitar was fierce, the opening chords washing over them with a haunting melody. Soon the bass and drums picked up the beat, and then the singer's voice joined the swell. The music crashed over the crowd in a way that even Bloody Paramour's hadn't managed. It was all because of Karsh.

They only did one song, but when it was over, the crowd was too stunned to even clap. For a moment. Then the applause was thunderous, whistles and cat calls ringing out towards the boys. Karsh was beaming from ear to ear, and Shailly could feel a similar expression on her face. She was proud of him.

Farica stepped back out on stage, cradling a golden trophy of a female guitarist who was swaying her hips in a sultry way and blowing kisses toward the crowd. She walked up to Karsh with a congratulatory smile and called out to the crowd, "Was that rocking, or what?"

The crowd eagerly agreed, screaming for an encore. It felt like the walls of the pub wouldn't hold up against the noise, but no one would even notice if they fell then and there, so absorbed were they in Farica's smoky voice.

"Everyone thank Cruciatus for coming all the way out here!" she called, and the crowd was pleased to oblige.

"Now, don't fret, darlings, because even though the band is going their separate ways," here the crowd booed unhappily, but Farica held up a hand, "No no, look. This amazing guitarist is my good friend Karsh Hargrove."

A few girls screamed that they loved him, to which he waved politely.

"He's going to be starting his own band, right around the corner at Hogwarts. Fancy that," Farica grinned, and the crowd gave an excited murmur.

"I love you Karsh," another girl screamed out, and Shailly felt her stomach jump uneasily.

Looking like the cat that's caught the golden bird, Farica purred, "Oh darlings. Don't scare poor Karsh. He's taken."

With that said, Farica closed the distance between them, pressing her plush lips against Karsh's and causing the crowd to ooh and ah appreciatively. They started to clap as Karsh, holding his guitar in one hand, used his other to pull Farica in close. The kiss was long and every bit as steamy as the one Shailly had witnessed between Shale and Arcadia earlier that day. But it was having a very different effect.

Nervously Jesse looked towards his girlfriend, "Uh, Shai."

"Loo," she barked back, extricating herself from his arms and marching right through the crowd. A few seconds after she disappeared, the kiss ended, and Farica and Karsh disappeared off stage so that the groupies could get their autographs and they could dismantle the stage.

Jesse clenched his jaw. As the crowd dispersed, her made his way back stage, pushing through a crowd of adoring fans to get to Karsh, whose red head he could just spot bobbing above a crowd of underage girls.

Roughly plowing through the girls, Jesse grabbed hold of Karsh's shirt. Shocked, he turned to Jesse.

"Hargrove, I need to talk to you," Jesse cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes so that Karsh could see just exactly how serious he was. Eyes widening, Karsh apologized to the girls and told them he'd be right back.

As soon as they made it backstage, Jesse's fist was flying into Karsh's stomach. The other boy let out a sharp inhalation, clutching his stomach.

"What the hell, Jesse?" Karsh demanded; his words sharp and punctuated with a gasp of pain.

"You sick fuck. You give me that crap about wanting Shailly to be happy and then you full on snog that American bint on stage?" Jesse angled another punch his way, but Karsh retaliated this time, swiping Jesse's side so that the blonde stumbled. He pulled Karsh to the floor right along with him, punching and lashing out with his feet.

"I do want Shailly to be happy, and what's this have to do with it anyway?" Karsh asked as he landed a punch on Jesse's eye. That was going to leave a nice shiner. Jesse returned the hit full force.

"She was with me, you smarmy git," Jesse yelled, scrambling to his feet, holding his sides and breathing hard. Karsh had to have landed at least three good punches, but he'd gotten more on the smaller boy, his quidditch reflexes kicking in.

Karsh was kneeling on the ground, and as realization dawned, he paled, "You brought her here?"

"Of course I did. Bloody Paramour's her favorite band!"

They were yelling, and they didn't care who heard, "I didn't tell you to bring her here. I didn't tell her about this!"

"No shit," Jesse retorted, "She looked pretty damned shocked when her bloody brother came out on stage."

"I- she saw?" Karsh's face was draining completely of color, but Jesse didn't take any pity on him, "That's not possible. She'll get the wrong idea. She'll think that I don't…"

Irately Jesse asked, "You don't what? Love her? You're not supposed to. You're her brother."

"Take that back."

"Absolutely not."

"Yes, take it back!" Karsh screamed.

Before he could even make a move, Jesse had Karsh pinned against the wall, his fingers digging into the other boy's neck, his nose pressed up against Karsh's.

"You're fucking screwy in the head, you know that right?" Jesse demanded, breathing hard. His eye was swelling in a manner that was decidedly not golden, his hair sticking to his forehead in little ringlets.

Karsh didn't hang his head in shame. He didn't even blink or look away. Instead, his steady gray gaze bored into Jesse's gold flecked eyes until the latter glanced to the side, watching the rest of the band dismantle. Somewhere out there, Shailly was in the ladies' fixing up her makeup and ready to fake a smile for her big brother and her boyfriend. It wasn't fair. Jesse had waited and waited to ask Shailly out since two years prior, but she'd been so dense that he'd decided to just see how long he could be patient and wait for her to realize she loved him on her own. She never did. He could tell in the way she looked at him. There was nothing but platonic love behind her smiles, which always intensified tenfold whenever her brother was around.

"Whatever," Jesse muttered, releasing Karsh. He wondered if he should just dump Shailly. It wasn't like he'd always been in love with her. It had taken five years of friendship to bring about this realization, and at first Jesse had wondered how exactly he could feel anything but friendly affection for this stumbling, ditzy, sometimes bossy girl. He could find someone else. Maybe.

Karsh absently fingered the spot on his neck where Jesse's thumb had been pressing in too hard. It was going to bruise. He checked to make sure his guitar necklace hadn't fallen off during the scuffle, but it hung there, as always. Jesse was such a prick, he mused, and his body was going to be sore as hell tomorrow. But there were more pressing matters to worry about.

"Where'd Shailly go?" Karsh asked quietly.

Jesse eyed him venomously, "You worry about your band. I'll worry about my girlfriend."

He stressed the word girlfriend, and Karsh winced. When Jesse walked away from the redhead, he didn't follow. He couldn't.

Jesse found Shailly waiting for him by the booth they'd been seated at earlier. When she saw his eye, she gasped and started fussing immediately, "What happened?"

"Your brother and I don't see eye to eye about some things."

"He hurt you?" Jesse blinked, wondering why she assumed Karsh was the one who'd started the fight.

"No," he sighed, "I hurt him. It was my fault."

"Is he okay?" Shailly asked, horrified, ready to run to her adoptive brother's side. How nauseating, Jesse thought.

"He's fine. I'm fine. We're all fucking fine."

"Jesse," Shailly started, realizing her boyfriend was upset for the first time. She reached out and touched his face, carefully evading the bruises, "What's wrong. Talk."

"Nothing. I just think that I'm your boyfriend. Why the hell did you get so upset when your brother kissed some girl?"

Shailly frowned at his frustration, "I wasn't upset. I was just…surprised. I didn't know he was dating Farica."

"I don't think he is dating Farica," Jesse told her, and tried not to flinch when her face lit up, "Look. You go find Karsh. I'm leaving."

"Jesse," Shailly didn't release his face, instead pulling him close, "C'mere."

She kissed him lightly, chastely, but Jesse still closed his eyes and enjoyed it, knowing it might full well be their last one. Shailly wasn't stupid, just a little dense. She'd realize how Karsh felt about her and then she'd realize she felt the same way and then all his plans would go out the window. He pressed up against her harder, turning something pure into a crushing, hard kiss. Shailly returned it, but soon enough she was trying to get away.

"Jesse, let go!" she finally yanked her face away, hurt obvious in her eyes.

"I-" he scowled, "I'm gone. Bye, Shai."

Shailly tried to stop him, but he refused to stop. Finally, she let him go. Reluctantly, Shailly made her way backstage, wondering if she was in for another Farica Karsh snog session. She found Karsh all alone, his guitar unsteadily perched in his lap. He was absently strumming out a tune. Shailly took in the bruises on his face and arms that were nearly identical to Jesse's, but didn't comment. Instead, she leaned against the wall next to him. They stayed that way in amiable silence until finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me you were playing tonight?"

"I haven't been telling you much of anything lately, in case you haven't noticed," Karsh replied dryly.

"Yeah, I know. You've been a real dick," Shailly replied, hoping her less than scathing words would sound at least halfway convincing.

Karsh shrugged, "I told you not to date Jesse."

"You're not my boss," Shailly replied immaturely, "You didn't tell me you dumped Flicka for Farica, either."

Karsh shrugged again, "You know Shai, there's a lot of things I don't tell you."

"Like the fact that you're turning into a grade A tosser?" Shailly questioned, and he turned to look at her, incredulous.

"Me? Oh, so Spiederman's not to blame for this at all?"

"Jesse talks to me."

"And kisses you," Karsh pointed out.

Shailly placed her hands on her hips, "So?"

"I- nothing," Karsh groaned, reclining against the dirty backstage floor.

"Don't say something unless you're going to finish it, Karsh Silenus Hargrove."

"Oh, so we're using full names now?" Karsh quirked an eyebrow, adding, "Shailly Charlotte McCallister."

"Its Hargrove. My name is Shailly Charlotte Hargrove."

Karsh didn't have anything to say to that. His face darkened, and he returned to strumming off notes on his back.

"What was the fight about?"

"Spiederman didn't tell you?"

"No," Shailly admitted, squatting down in front of him.

"Good boyfriend," Karsh replied sarcastically, "I suppose he left all in a rage."

Shailly punched his knee lightly, "So you tell me."

"He didn't like that I…er, kissed Farica in front of you," Karsh stopped strumming the strings of the guitar and looked embarrassedly away, "He thinks I shouldn't have. And I wouldn't, if I'd known you were here."

Shailly didn't know whether to be amused or hurt. She was constantly confused about what to feel, lately.

"So it's okay if you kiss girls as long as I'm not around?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Karsh, I don't care if you have a girlfriend."

He sucked in a deep breath, "But you hated Flicka."

"Flicka was an idiot," Shailly grinned, "Farica is a badass rocker babe."

"So Farica's acceptable then?" he asked, and Shailly couldn't quite make out why it sounded like there was a question within the question. Boys were so confoundedly puzzling sometimes.

"I guess. As much as any other girl," she said carefully. Karsh sat up, only to grab at her hair. In one swift motion, he pulled the hair tie out, her ponytail coming apart and splaying across her shoulders.

"I like your hair better down."

Shailly just nodded.

"I guess I could date Farica. She's staying on in the UK for a little while. She graduated Shimmercobble early so that Bloody Paramour could tour."

Shailly tried to keep a grin plastered on her face, even though her smile was quickly faltering.

"Alright," Karsh muttered, more to himself than to her, "I'll date Farica if that's what you want."

"I didn't say I wanted-"

He held up a hand. Inside, his mind was racing. If he was brave, right here, right now, he'd take her into his arms and confess. Shailly, he'd say, I can't live without you. I need you more than I've never needed anything or anyone. I feel like I can't breathe right when you're not around. When I'm with you, I feel complete.

Everything he thought to say or do sounded sappy or wrong. What if she didn't reciprocate what he felt? What if she thought he was disgusting? No, Karsh decided, he'd fool around with Farica for a little while, and give Shailly more time.

Meanwhile, Shailly was feeling something that she'd never felt before. It was a tightening in her chest that she couldn't quite place, but she knew she didn't like it. For the first time, Shailly realized that although she'd often wondered whether her brother could be in love with her, she'd never once thought that she might very well be in love with him. Oh, she felt her stomach flip and sink, this is not good. Not good at all.

She didn't want him to date Farica. She didn't want him to touch another girl, much less kiss them. Shailly felt the urge to scream bubble up inside her as Karsh smiled, ran a hand through his thick red hair, and said, "Alright. I'll ask Farica tonight."

And it was at the moment that Shailly Hargrove's heart started to break that she acknowledge that she was in love with her brother.

* * *

Long chapter. And I suck hard at making band names. Lo Siento.


End file.
